The present invention relates to a brake drum, in particular a brake drum of a utility vehicle, which consists of a shell portion and an attachment portion.
Brake drums of the type in question are well known from the prior art. For example, there are brake drums that are made of an aluminum composite material, in which aluminum is die-cast around a porous ceramic core. However, such a system has the drawback that both the production of the ceramic core and the aluminum die-casting method are very energy-intensive and costly. Also known are brake drums in which ceramic particles are mixed with the molten aluminum alloy prior to casting. However, such systems have the drawback that the ceramic particles are not arranged in a targeted manner in the region of what is to be the wearing face, but rather are to be found distributed throughout the whole cast part. As a consequence, the highly stressed attachment portion, where the brake drum is attached to the vehicle, can experience material failure. Furthermore, it is not possible to use a high proportion of ceramic, the consequence of which is impaired wearing behavior.
The present invention therefore has the object of providing a brake drum, in particular for application in the field of utility vehicles, which has high resistance to wearing, guarantees a long service life and is simple and cost-effective to produce.